Posts Tagged ‘Burger’

So the story goes, the original “Burger Burger” was developed in nearby New Orleans and made its way east to Biloxi sometime after 1947.

The sandwich was sold in a local restaurant for years until one day, the perfect home of its own became available and the Burger Burger restaurant opened up, selling their proprietary sandwich, along with daily specials – their version of traditional southern dishes. Also on the menu, traditional gumbo, salads, seafood baskets and breakfast.

Here I’ve buried the lead, haven’t I? The “Burger Burger” is like a hamburger poboy – on toasted French bread with mustard, diced onion, and special sauce, which they also call “gravy.” Somebody described it like “Swiss steak” on a bun, and maybe that’s apt, it’s sure different than a hamburger poboy in New Orleans which can be incredibly plain and dull.

They have other “specialty” burgers as well, in a form you might be more used to seeing.

Being as this is primarily a hamburger website, and I write about burgers a lot, naturally I took one look at the menu and went right for the……….catfish.

That’s right. I couldn’t seem to get enough fried catfish this trip, so it pretty much showed up in front of me once a day.

And was I ever glad. Burger Burger makes perfect fried catfish, accompanied by fries, slaw, lemon and tartar if you wish. It was a lighter, slightly seasoned batter, perfectly crispy, the fish resting inside done to perfection, moist, not a hint of grease.

Dandy.

Service is frenetic and friendly at the same time. Like they took classes in “Southern hospitality.” Quite sure they mentioned everything was made in-house.

The restaurant is located in an old residence and the walls are chock-a-block with vintage photos and nostalgic memorabilia.

Damn, I love it when a place far exceeds my expectations. I was on the prowl for a new burger in the NW burbs of Chicago and stumbled upon this micro-sized diner offering burgers, sandwiches, and some Greek specialties.

I was intrigued by the “Zeus” burger, which promised a quality beef patty topped with Saganaki (a Greek-style cheese that has been flambed), tzatziki sauce (yogurt, cucumber, dill), and other toppings of your choice.

It was fantastic! Hearty bun, nice flavor in the lean beef patty, cooked to order. Looking at the menu, I also noticed they had kalamata olives for some items, and they would have been a good add-on for this style burger. I’ll remember to ask next time.

Bombas also offers “Greek fries,” which are oven baked, doused with lemon juice and sprinkled with feta. Delish.

If you’re not looking for this place, you might miss it, in a small strip mall next to a large pawn shop. And it seems Google maps has its location a little off the actual place. Or it seemed so to me.

I hope these guys have lots of success. They use quality ingredients with attention to preparation and presentation – at a fair price. Oh yeah, I’ll be back. Oh yeah, outrageously good dill spears, too!

The Jucy Lucy (sic) is a burger patty with molten cheese inside. It originated in Minnesota, but the actual birthsite is in dispute, with both Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club in Minneapolis claiming the naming rights. Matt’s uses the spelling of “Jucy,” while the 5-8 adds the “i.” You’ll pay $6.75 at Matt’s, and $9.35 (with fries) at the 5-8.

The burger style is now widely available across the US, and while the original is stuffed with “American cheese,” there are all sorts of variations available, with different cheeses (feta, blue, pepperjack, cheddar) and other ingredients (mushrooms, peppers, olives, bacon) as stuffing supplements.

There are a couple of ‘tricks’ to making these burgers at home, but if you follow the tips, you’ll have a fun burger to serve your family and friends, and you can customize them (as suggested above) to suit your guest’s personal palate. Merkt’s sharp cheddar cheese spread is a popular choice in the Chicago area.

Start with 80/20 ground beef, and make two thin patties, one an inch larger in diameter than the other. Place the larger patty on a piece of wax paper, and place 1 slice of American cheese, quartered, in the middle of the patty. Place the other patty on top, and fold the edges of the larger patty up over the edge of the smaller patty, crimping the edges.

One downside of the Jucy Lucy is no one has figured out how to cook them to any different stage than “well,” because that is how the molten cheese effect happens. So you’re looking at a good 6 minutes plus per side on the griddle or grill.

Garnish to your own taste, and be CAREFUL biting in. “Molten” cheese means just that, and it can be HOT!

I made two this time around, on the left, “traditional style,” on the right, “black & blue,” blue cheese, olives, cajun seasoning.

Some great friends of mine here in Portland started a Japanese inspired hot dog cart, called Domo Dogs. It was great. But I had never heard of a Japanese burger (except in my trips to Japan, of course). I saw this place a couple trips ago in the Chicago area and resolved to try it next time I was through town.

As it happened, my favorite dining companion, BurgerDogDaughter and I happen to traverse the Windy City at the same time and hit up the food court at this massive Japanese grocery, which used to be a favorite haunt of ours when she was coming up.

She went for the fancy pants ramen, with miso and pork, and a side of salmon roe.

I checked out Gabutto Burger. They promise a “delicious experience”, with their special Gabutto patty, part beef, part pork, breaded with their special glaze. It’s not a teriyaki, and it’s not quite a savory. Somewhere in between but more towards the savory. While I generally don’t like sauces of most any ilk (except bernaise and bechamel), this was ok. The bun was ultra bakery soft, but not so much that it would fall apart with the weight of the burger, sauce, and moisture from the vegetables (tomato, lettuce, purple raw onion).

If your measure of perfect fries is McDonald’s, you’ll love these crispy shoestrings. On the counter are 8 shakers of ‘flavoring’, you choose what you like for your fries – garlic/butter, ranch, original spicy, curry, and so on. I went with the garlic butter, and tried some wasabi, too. Both were enjoyable.